In Major League Baseball, in the American League, the Kansas City Royals beat Texas 4-1, and now have a little more room between themselves and the Detroit Tigers atop the American League Central. The Royals moved 1 ½ games ahead by completing a three-game sweep while the Tigers failed to take their third straight from the Indians after a 7-0 loss last night.
Closer to home, the New York Yankees bounced back to end a three-game losing streak, beating the Boston Red Sox 5-1. Brian McCann homered among his career high-tying four hits. Elsewhere Toronto bested Tampa Bay 7-4, Seattle edged Oakland 2-1, Minnesota blew out the White Sox 11-4, and it was Houston over the Angels 4-1.
In the National League, Adam LaRoche capped his five-RBI afternoon by delivering the tiebreaking grounder in the 14th inning as Washington beat the Dodgers in Los Angeles 8-5. With the win, the Nationals maintain their seven-game lead over Atlanta in the NL East. the Mets edged Miami 4-3, St. Louis defeated Pittsburgh 1-0, Atlanta won against Philadelphia 7-4, the Cubs bested Milwaukee 6-2, and it was Arizona over San Diego 6-1.
In interleague play, Baltimore shut out Cincinnati 6-0.
NFL:
The NFL regular season opening game starts tonight at 8:30 when last years superbowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks take on the Green Bay Packers.
Michael Sam has been signed to the Dallas Cowboys practice squad. The NFL's first openly gay player landed in Dallas after being released in the Rams' final cutdown to the 53-man roster on Saturday. The Cowboys are seeking help with their pass rush because of injuries and the offseason release of franchise sacks leader DeMarcus Ware.
The New York Jets could be without cornerback Dee Milliner for their season opener Sunday, leaving the team's depleted secondary even thinner against Oakland. Milliner still hasn't practiced since suffering a high ankle sprain on Aug. 10. He worked with trainers on the side during Wednesday's workout and did straight-ahead running, but hasn't done any cutting.
The NFL says concussions decreased by 13 percent overall during the 2013 season from the previous year, and the number of concussions coming from helmet-to-helmet contact was down 23 percent. Those are the findings of the NFL's Health and Safety committee, which released its report to The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Tennis – U.S. Open:
Top seed Serena Williams is two match victories away from her third straight U.S. Open singles title. Williams dropped the first three games of her opening set on Wednesday before advancing to the semifinals with a 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 11 Flavia Pennetta. Williams next faces Ekaterina Makarova, who breezed through a 6-4, 6-2 win over Victoria Azarenka.
No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic will take on Kei Nishikori in the U.S. Open semifinals. Djokovic needed about 3 ½ hours to knock out eighth seed Andy Murray, 7-6, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4. Nishikori advanced by winning his second straight five-set match, ousting No. 3 Stan Wawrinka 3-6, 7-5, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4.
NCAA:
UCLA says running back Steven Manfro will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Manfro was taken off the practice field on a cart after injuring his knee Tuesday. The junior caught 37 passes for 400 yards and two touchdowns over the last two seasons and was also featured on special teams.
University of Connecticut women's basektball coach Geno Auriemma says an unnamed school has complained to the American Athletic Conference after he made a congratulatory phone call to Little League World Series pitching star Mo'Ne Davis. Mo'ne said during the tournament that she hoped to play for UConn someday. UConn says since Mo'Ne isn't even in high school, it's not a recruiting violation.
Police say the goalie for the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team has been arrested on an assault charge. Foster's Daily Democrat reports police in Durham say they received a call early Sunday from a woman saying she was the victim of domestic violence. She accused Casey DeSmith of assaulting her. He has been suspended from the team pending further investigation.
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